Still William by Richmal Crompton Read Free Book Online

plunge into the jungle an’ I bet
she’ll soon’ve had enough of plungin’ into the jungle.’
    They left the path and ‘plunged’ into the dense, shoulder-high undergrowth. At the end of the line ‘plunged’ Violet Elizabeth. She fought her way determinedly through the
bushes. She left remnants of her filmy skirts on nearly every bush. Long spidery arms of brambles caught at her hair again and pulled out her curls. But Violet Elizabeth liked it.
‘Ithn’t it fun ?’ she piped as she followed.
    Under a large tree William stopped.
    ‘Now we’ll be Red Indians,’ he said, ‘an’ go huntin’. I’ll be Brave Heart same as usual and Ginger be Hawk Face and Douglas be Lightning Eye.’
    ‘An’ what shall I be?’ said the torn and stained and wild-headed apparition that had been Violet Elizabeth.
    Douglas took the matter in hand.
    ‘What thall I be?’ he mimicked shrilly. ‘What thall I be? What thall I be?’
    Violet Elizabeth did not run home in tears as he had hoped she would. She laughed gleefully.
    ‘It doth thound funny when you thay it like that!’ she said delightedly. ‘Oh, it doth! Thay it again! Pleeth thay it again.’
    Douglas was nonplussed.
    ‘Anyway,’ he said, ‘you jolly well aren’t going to play, so there.’
    ‘Pleath let me play,’ said Violet Elizabeth. ‘Pleath.’
    ‘No. Go away!’
    William and Ginger secretly admired the firm handling of this female by Douglas.
    ‘Pleath , Douglath.’
    ‘No! ’
    Violet Elizabeth’s blue eyes, fixed pleadingly upon him, filled with tears. Violet Elizabeth’s underlip trembled.
    ‘You’re making me cry,’ she said. A tear traced its course down the blackberry stained cheek.
    ‘Pleath , Douglath.’
    Douglas hesitated and was lost. ‘Oh, well—’ he said.
    ‘Oh, thank you, dear Douglath,’ said Violet Elizabeth. ‘What thall I be?’
    ‘Well,’ said William to Douglas sternly. ‘Now you’ve let her play I s’pose she’d better be a squaw.’
    ‘A thquaw,’ said Violet Elizabeth joyfully, ‘what thort of noith doth it make?’
    ‘It’s a Indian lady and it doesn’t make any sort of a noise,’ said Ginger crushingly. ‘Now we’re going out hunting and you stay and cook the
dinner.’
    ‘All right,’ said Violet Elizabeth obligingly. ‘Kith me goodbye.’
    Ginger stared at her in horror.
    ‘But you mutht,’ she said, ‘if you’re going out to work an’ I’m going to cook the dinner, you mutht kith me goodbye. They do.’
    ‘I don’t,’ said Ginger.
    She held up her small face.
    ‘Pleath , Ginger.’
    Blushing to his ears Ginger just brushed her cheek with his. William gave a derisive snort. His self-respect had returned. Douglas’s manly severity had been overborne. Ginger had been
prevailed upon to kiss her. Well, they couldn’t laugh at him now. They jolly well couldn’t. Both were avoiding his eye.
    ‘Well, go off to work, dear William and Douglas and Ginger,’ said Violet Elizabeth happily, ‘an’ I’ll cook.’
    Gladly the hunters set off.
    The Red Indian game had palled. It had been a success while it lasted. Ginger had brought some matches and over her purple layer of blackberry juice the faithful squaw now wore
a layer of black from the very smoky fire they had at last managed to make.
    ‘Come on,’ said William, ‘let’s set out looking for adventures.’
    They set off single file as before, Violet Elizabeth bringing up the rear, Jumble darting about in ecstatic searches for imaginary rabbits. Another small bog glimmered ahead. Violet Elizabeth,
drunk with her success as a squaw, gave a scream.
    ‘Another thquithy plath,’ she cried. ‘I want to be firtht.’
    She flitted ahead of them, ran to the bog, slipped and fell into it face forward.
    She arose at once. She was covered in black mud from head to foot. Her face was a black mud mask. Through it her teeth flashed in a smile. ‘I juth thlipped,’ she explained.
    A man’s voice came suddenly from the main path through